


Fragments

by CrimeBrulee



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: AU, Alternate Reality, Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Burnish Galo Thymos, M/M, On the Run, Soulmates, slow-burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21903316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimeBrulee/pseuds/CrimeBrulee
Summary: Following his capture of Lio Fotia, Galo wakes in an alternate reality where he is a member of the Mad Burnish and right-hand man to Lio himself.  With only his memories of the timeline spent in Burning Rescue, Galo must navigate an unfamiliar life as a Burnish and his budding relationship with Lio. [Slow-burn.  Multi-chap.]
Relationships: Gueira/Meis (Promare), Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 34
Kudos: 268





	1. A Memory Unbidden

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't write the beginning of Promare exactly as the movie because it's been a few weeks since I saw it and I get super anxious about being exact if I try. That's the only part that will converge with canon anyway!!
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Update every other week, hopefully.
> 
> Ps. If you wanna hang out, my twitter is @secondprinces and I love to talk promare!!
> 
> OH! I made a playlist for this fic btw!! [here! ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zkJo9f1a1zGOD6yv2NqmA?si=rJrEb5h5TU-QM_6as1NmZA)

“We honor Galo Thymos here today for the capture of burnish terrorist Lio Fotia—”

It was Kray Foresight who pinned the medal to Galo’s chest amid the announcement. 

"I’m counting on you to keep up protecting the city,” Kray said.

Caught in a whirlwind of confetti, Galo grinned ear to ear out at the sea of faces clustered around the stage. _Finally some recognition_ , he thought, chest puffing out just a little to catch a gleam of light across the medal there. In addition to putting out the fires that raged in the city, he was finally doing some _actual_ good. Fit to burst with pride, Galo tried to catch Kray’s eye, but the governor had already paced back to the podium without a word.

Kray flashed the crowd his own confident little smile, blond hair preened back and uniform a crisp white—a perfect beacon of order in contrast to Galo’s wild spiked blue hair exploding from a steep undercut. 

Kray only had to clear his throat for the cheering to fall silent. The crowd shuffled, awaiting his words.

“Good afternoon,” Kray started. He held up a hand to cut short fresh clamor. “Thirty years ago, when the burnish mutation arose, a great blaze overtook the world. Since then, we’ve been fighting the flame mutants who threaten our livelihood. It is my privilege to award this medal to our very own Galo Thymos, in conjunction with Burning Rescue.” He allowed a brief pause. “Beyond the scope of a simple capture, Lio Fotia’s imprisonment marks a turning point in the struggle against the Mad Burnish and their attempts to set Promepolis ablaze. Like a snake without its head, the Burnish’s days are numbered without their leader. The Freeze Force will redouble its efforts to round up the last of these terrorists and permanently ensure the safety of our city. We will soon never again fear the living fire.”

Kray bowed at the waist, just by a small degree, and moved off the stage among an uproar of applause. He did not stop to congratulate Galo a second time, instead breezing past him. Galo followed.

Kray disappeared into his car and was whisked away. Galo made a beeline for the rest of his Burning Rescue team.

“Galo!” Aina called, waving a hand overhead. Pink hair swept into a side-pony. She still wore her overalls over a bralette and short shorts. “Congratulations on not tripping on stage!”

Galo rubbed at the back of his neck, laughing uproariously. “You could never be so lucky!” He positively beamed through several pats on his back, in quick succession from Lucia, Ignis, Remi, and finally Varys. He puffed out his chest all the more. “So, uh, who’s hungry? I could really go for a slice after all of that!”

The group found themselves piling around a patio table at their favourite pizzeria, amid the lunch crowd. They shoveled margherita pizza down their throats, ignoring cheese lava and steaming sauce that burned their tongues.

Galo, with his face plastered all over the electronic billboards streaming across the city skyscrapers, had shaken hands with nearly everyone on the patio. 

Several had asked to see the livid scars snaking down his arm, which he proudly removed his medical sleeve for. “Yeah, I got this on my first day on the job,” he said. “Being a part of the Burning Rescue is very dangerous. Did you know that I literally slathered myself in extinguishing gel just to make that rescue? Hahahahaha, I’ve had smarter moments, I suppose!”

“We’re not repeating that, _ever_ ,” Remi said, pushing his glasses up his nose. Despite the heat of the city, he still wore his red and yellow firefighters jacket.

After the initial rush, the crowd finally fell away and left them to eat.

“Ah that hits the spot—” Galo exclaimed, four slices in. A fifth drooped from his hand, cheese spilling off onto the tablecloth. 

“Galo, you’re making a mess,” Ignis said, raising a brow from behind sunglasses. The chief, he was the oldest of the group, hair cropped short and a mustache hiding much of his mouth.

Galo lifted the pizza high above his head, craning his neck to slurp the slice down. 

Both Aina and Remi exchanged looks. 

Lucia, in her lab coat and twin blonde buns, cackled to herself. 

Only Varys, a hulking man with dark skin, could compete with Galo’s appetite.

“God, I was just thinking, though,” Galo said between bites. He swallowed and smeared his arm across his mouth.

Wordlessly, Aina thrust a napkin in his face.

Galo wiped the grease off of his arm with it.

“Close enough,” Aina mumbled.

“It’s really come full circle,” Galo continued. He gulped down some water, and beamed down at the medal again. “Receiving this from Gov like this. You now, he’s the whole reason I’m in Burning Rescue in the first place.”

“Oh, I’m well aware,” Ignis coughed a little into his sleeve. “He pulled more strings than we will ever allow again, your success aside…This isn’t some career to join on a whim.”

Galo brushed this off. 

“He saved your life, didn’t he?” Aina asked. “Way back when?”

“Yeah…” Galo trailed off. 

The memory came unbidden.

_He was six years old._

_Acrid smoke burned his lungs, hacking into feeble coughs that rattled Galo awake. He’d stumbled from his bed, eyes burning as he squinted into the haze._

_“MOM. DAD.” He’d cried out. He heaved out a sobbing gasp and crawled toward the door._

_The hallway was relatively clear beneath the thick smoke that clung to the walls and ceiling. With short, scathing breaths, Galo dragged himself across the floor. Black danced in his vision. Dizziness permeated through the pounding in his skull._

_His parents’ door was at the end of the hallway._

_Galo called out once more. Nothing. He pulled himself to his feet and reached for the knob but fell away with a cry, the livid metal searing his palm. Fresh tears spilling onto his smoke-stained face as the burn throbbed, but he pounded weakly against the door where he sat, knees pressed to his chest. The fire consumed his senses, until there was only the roar of inferno and the dry, blistering heat._

_“Mom…Dad…” These cries were weaker._

_Smoke seethed under the door at him._

_But then finally, through the crackle of fire and deafening flame, Galo caught the rattle of breath from the other side._

_“Galo…baby….go outside. Remember where you used to wait for the postman? Go there…Galo…run…”_

_“Mom—” Galo cried._

_“Run…”_

_Flames ate away at the door—iridescent with purples and pinks so unlike the fires before the burnish mutation. A dragon born of lightning slithered through the keyhole and hissed through its maw._

_Galo’s scream caught in his throat and he ran, stumbling over his own feet to get toward the front door. All of the heat and the flame and the smoke contracted then burst violently, shattering the windows and hurling out the door after Galo._

_He couldn’t remember what happened next, just that he was suddenly in a man’s arms—Kray Foresight—being carried down the street as people gathered._

_He’d blacked out, but he’d never forgotten that face._

“He saved my life and I swore that I’d put out every fire I can no matter how daunting. I’ll protect as many innocent lives as I can!” Galo said. Never again would he feel so helpless.

Galo masked the flicker of pain in his eyes by gobbling up a fresh slice of pizza. This was a day for celebration, and he would quell that searing ache before it could even flare up again. Kray Foresight had acknowledged it himself. Galo was finally able to protect the innocent, and it was his sworn duty to do so.

“It really launched his career,” Remi mentioned, chewing thoughtfully. “All that free publicity. Losing an arm saving a kid from a fire got his anti-burnish inventions discovered and next thing anyone knows, he’s the governor of Promepolis and the head of his own foundation.”

“Definitely a man to look up to!” Galo chimed in.

Ignis put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good kid,” he said, with a rare, gruff little smile. “I have no doubt you’ll inspire others in your time. Just so long as you follow your own path and do what you deem right.” He turned away, mumbling into his pizza before Galo could respond.

A murmur rifled over the patio, falling away to dead silence as hovercraft blades thrummed through the air. Pizza boxes and napkins hurled themselves in circles in the swell of wind before dropping as the aircrafts eased to the ground.

“Freeze Force,” Remi muttered.

Vulcan, the head of Freeze Force, stepped out of the vehicle, flanked on both sides by armored soldiers. He cocked a giant freeze gun, a bulky weapon designed to spew ice to quell burnish flame, as he flashed jagged teeth at the crowd. He strutted around with the sort of arrogance of one who enforced rules as he made them up. And people jumped to obey.

“Nobody move,” he ordered. “If you move, we’ll arrest you.”

The group jogged inside. The crosshairs of their guns scathed across the patrons of the shop, who had all stopped in their tracks and stood plastered to the walls to give Freeze Force room. A tension sparked across the air like taut strings binding a dozen marionettes. It settled into the scuff of Freeze Forces’s boots as they pushed through and the crackle of a pizza oven still aflame as everyone held their breaths.

Galo threw himself to his feet and pursued them inside, his teammates’ pleas falling on deaf ears. 

“Fuck it—” They followed.

“Just what’s the meaning of this—” Galo demanded, thrusting himself in through the door. All eyes turned on him.

Vulcan raised a hand to silence Galo. “Not this whelp again.” He laughed, training his gun on Galo. “What did I just say. If you move, we’ll consider you a Burnish and arrest you too.”

Teeth grit, Galo froze, indignation and helplessness swelling in his chest and seething into limbs he struggled to control. His knuckles turned white in clenched fists. He stared Vulcan down between measured breaths.

A whimper caught the silence.

The pizza man—Tony—had been sidling toward the roaring flame of the oven.

A dozen guns trained on him, and flames lashed from his fingertips as he made a lunge for the door.

They shot multiple blasts of ice. The flames fell away as blocks and shattered on the floor. A second round encased his wrists, ankles, and neck. He toppled to the ground.

The owner of the pizzeria threw himself forward. “Please, he’s just cooking pizza—he’s not harming anything.”

Vulcan rounded on him, slapping the barrel of his gun into his opposite palm with a leery grin. “You do realize it’s against the law to protect their kind—”

The cook grit his teeth. “Boss, it’s okay…”

“But he really wasn’t doing anything—” Galo interjected. “The terrorists fine—go ham—but he was doing nothing—he was just leading a regular life--”

“They’re all the same,” Vulcan spat. “And you’ll do well to stay out of our affairs.” He slammed the butt of his gun into Galo’s stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground. He brought a boot down on his head.

Galo tasted blood before he saw black.

\--

The memory played and replayed in his head, bubbling with distortion with each throb in the back of Galo’s skull. It raced impossibly fast and slow at the same time, overlapping with itself. The roar of flames became distorted. His mother’s dying words twisted in on themselves.

Kray’s arms around Galo became a vicelike grip on his wrist—

_The flames didn’t burn him. Six year old Galo sat up in bed amid the blaze, staring at his hands as fire danced across his fingertips. He looked around at the smoke billowing through his door. The fire hadn’t started in his room, but steadily the flames licked his doorframe and crept across his carpet._

_Galo blinked, carefully wading his way through them. They licked at his feet, only a slight tickle on his legs. Brow furrowed, he stuck his hand into the flames eating across the hallway walls, and watched it trail up his own arm._

A dream _, he decided, waving his arm around, eyes growing wide._

_“Mom? Dad?” he called out, jogging down the hallway toward their room. “Mom! Dad! Look what I can do—”_

_A young man—Kray Foresight--intercepted him, half engulfed in flames that revved hotter, higher with his startled gasp. “It’s dangerous—” he paused, hand tight around Galo’s wrist, as he stared at him. “You’re a burnish--” He glanced back toward the door, rattling with the force of boiling flame and air. “Fuck._ Fuck _.”_

_Galo stared up at him, eyes wide. He wrenched his arm against this man’s grip. “You’re hurting me—” His eyes turned back to the door. “I want my mom and dad—”_

_“Your parents are dead, kid,” Kray mumbled. “They burnt up.”_

_“But I didn’t—and you aren’t—” Galo shouted. “You’re lying—”_

_Kray scoffed. “Observant for a twerp.” He grit his teeth and started to drag Galo for the door, ignoring his screaming and crying as he flailed his limbs. “Just stop. You’re already making this harder than it needs to be—Look, I tried to see if I could save anyone, but I couldn’t control the flames—I couldn’t do anything. I was doing so damn well. I was_ in control _until tonight. I won’t take the fall for this.” He sucked a breath in through his teeth as he pushed through the door, Galo digging his heels in._

_Kray Foresight yanked Galo down the steps, as easily as a man dragging a doll, out into the street. He hesitated, finding himself crowded by half a dozen people and several news reporters. A hundred overlapping questions bombarded him._

_Kray thrust Galo in front of them. “I saw the fire and went in to investigate,” he said. “Turns out this kid is a burnish and he killed his family. He’s the only one I could find alive in the blaze, but of course he would survive it.”_

_Galo landed sprawling, tears and snot running down his face in the crossfire of flashing cameras and hurled yells._

_Kray made a show of wincing in pain, grasping his arm. “I should get to a hospital. I think I might have gotten a little singed—I couldn’t go too far into the flames, but…I’m pretty sure it’s a lost cause.”_

Galo shot upright with a snarled yell, clasping his hand to his chest to still the heart hammering into his throat. Hot and cold washed over him in waves, body damp with a sheen of sweat that plastered his hair to his forehead. 

“What a weird fucking nightmare—” he gasped.

“Galo Thymos, if you don’t shut the fuck up. It’s like three a.m.,” a voice hissed.

Galo jumped.

Took stock of his surroundings.

He was in a tiny room, huddled with four or five people he didn’t recognize in sleeping bags and makeshift pillows. Their forms were illuminated by a bit of moonlight peppering through holes in rusted metal walls.

Where was he? He patted at his chest and arms, alarmed to find both his shirt _and_ his medal missing.

The owner of the voice sat up and, with a snap of his fingers, illuminated a pink spark across his face to glare at Galo. “Pipe down.” Green hair fell in disarray around his ears and over his cheekbones, and his face was still imprinted with the fold of the zipper of the jacket he’d been using as a pillow.

There was no mistaking him.

 _Lio Fotia._


	2. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Galo awkwardly gets his bearings in this new reality. Lio mentions a new mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay chapter 2 is up! Gueira is aware that Galo is asking a lot of odd questions, but he's just chalking it up to finally bonding. Meanwhile Galo's head might explode.
> 
> Thanks for bearing with me! <3

“It--it’s you--” The name escaped Galo, somewhere in the pounding of his head and the taste of blood still in his mouth. He grappled with clumsy limbs, shuddering when the cool night air met the sweat drenching his body. “You were captured--how did you-- What’s--what’s going on--”

When he tried to breathe, Galo’s throat constricted. He scuttled backwards on his hands and feet. His back hit the wall.

“Galo?” Irritation melted away to worry.

The room careened.

Lio’s eyes--big and bright and _concerned_ \--filled his vision. His words lingered in the space between them, twisting in on themselves and impossible to pluck from the roaring in Galo’s ears.

“ _Galo_.”

This didn’t make sense. When was he captured? _How_ was he captured? Last he remembered, he was arguing with Vulcan and Freeze Force at the pizzeria--he’d--he’d fallen unconscious when Vulcan had kicked him--

 _A dream?_ Galo wondered.

His mind raced until his stomach twisted. He doubled over, clapping a hand to his mouth when he tasted vomit. 

It felt too real to be a dream. Galo _knew_ nightmares. He’d had them about the fire his whole life.

This was different.

“Galo. Thymos.”

The sharp snap of Lio’s fingers cut through the noise, and Galo froze, eyes finally focusing on Lio. 

When Lio was sure Galo was actually calm, he spoke again. “You were having a bad dream. You’re safe now.” He reached to press the heel of his hand into Galo’s forehead, but withdrew when Galo flinched. “Repeat it back to me. You are safe.”

 _Was he, though?_ He’d seen what Lio’s flames could do, and he was alone, unarmed, and surrounded. 

But he had to remain calm. His eyes darted over Lio’s shoulder, but in the shadow of the room he couldn’t make out any obvious doors.

“I’m--I’m safe,” Galo rasped. He swallowed, throat dry and tongue like leather.

Lio maintained a steady gaze, just inches from Galo’s face again. He nodded, slowly. “Just focus on me. Can you do that?”

Galo managed a nod. He felt detached from the motion, trapped in a moment held in bated breath, unable to process his limbs.

Vaguely, he was aware of the others in the room stirring. Some threw their jackets over their heads, cursing, but two others -- Gueira and Meis--sat up and drew close.

“Boss? What’s the deal?” Meis slurred through his drowsiness. “Something happen?”

“Nightmare, I think,” Lio murmured back. He peered into Galo’s face with a quiet familiarity. 

Galo dared not move. He felt the pounding of his heart leap into his throat. A fresh wave of panic surged through him.

“That last fight was pretty gnarly, after all,” Gueira said. “Can’t blame him.” He shuddered. “Freeze Force is still on our tails too…”

Lio silenced him with a raised brow, eyes darting to Galo. “One minute,” he mouthed to Guiera before focusing on Galo again. “I’m going to help you go back to sleep. Everything will be fine in the morning when it’s light outside.”

“What are you--”

Lio placed his hands on either side of Galo’s face, fingertips hooking in the crook where his jaw met his ears. He bowed solemnly, like in a prayer, to rest his forehead against Galo’s. His hair fell over his face like a veil. 

“Just relax,” Lio murmured. “I’ll keep watch over everyone tonight.” He closed his eyes and let his power flow.

Galo tensed, every muscle screaming as flames rolled out of Lio’s body and over his. _This is it--_ he thought, screwing his eyes shut. He’d felt the sear of fire many times on the job with Burning Rescue--it only made sense he’d meet his end this way--

But--instead of agonizing heat came a gentle warmth. Trembling, he opened his eyes to stare at the purples, pinks, and blues outlining his body, caressing shuddering muscles and relaxing his shoulders. It settled over his heart in a raging ball until the pounding settled down. Galo’s eyelids became heavy. His vision blurred as he raised a hand to stare at the flame engulfing him, then slumped forward as the last of it wisped out.

Lio staggered under his weight to lay him back down. “Oof...there we go…” Sighing, he wriggled back into his jacket and sat with his back against the wall, staring over the group.

Meis and Guiera joined him on either side.

Lio let his head thunk backwards, arms around his knees. 

“Boss?” Meis asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry, I just need a minute to compose myself is all,” Lio said. He pressed his fingertips to his temples and counted through a few deep breaths. “Is Galo asleep?”

Guiera crawled over to check and flashed a thumbs up. “I think so.”

“Good…it worries me seeing him like that. With everything that’s happening, we can’t afford _not_ to be okay. Especially not me. Especially not my top generals.”

Galo’s eyes slid back open only when Guiera retreated again, just slivers taking in the pale moonlight across sleeping bodies in front of him. He could barely make out the quiet rasp of conversation behind him. Panic had died down into a warm calm that swaddled him in heavy limbs and deep breathing just on the edge of sleep. _This_ felt more like a dream.

Lio sighed again. “It _was_ a rough fight…that raid. We barely made it through by the skin of our teeth…”

“Yeah…” Meis said. “But we did. We made it through. For better or for worse.”

Lio’s eyes fell shut. “We lost so many, though. We need a plan. A good one. Those who fell to ash we can’t help, but we need to figure out where they’re keeping those they captured. We can’t leave them behind to suffer.”

Guiera and Meis murmured a general agreement. 

“Offensive? Defensive? I wish it was as easy as sequestering ourselves from the world, but I don’t know how to win this fight. I don’t even know how to fight it. Every time I glance over my shoulder, they’ve developed some new technology to track us--to freeze us--to kill us.” Lio grit his teeth.

“I think for now, we focus on licking our wounds,” Meis suggested. “There are more than a few of us with sustained injuries from those freezing bullets. We have to focus on that first.”

Lio nodded. “We just have to get the rest of the way to Promepolis. Then we can rest for a little while. We can find a spot to camp out.”

"Oh, right, for the equipment run?” Meis asked.

Lio nodded. He scoffed. “Galo would kill me if he knew where I was getting it from, but, we need every advantage we can get.”

“You know?” Guiera quietly said. “Maybe we _do_ need to fight fire with fire.” He pounded his fist into his hand. “We have more than enough firepower to take the world for ourselves--”

Lio shook his head. “If nothing else, we Burnish have our pride, and we do not kill people.” He watched the rise and fall of the sleeping forms in front of him, expression softening. “Too many innocents would get caught in the crossfire anyway, and that’s not the world I want to create. There has to be a way for us all to fit.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Guiera said, deflating a little bit. He let his head thunk against Lio’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Boss. You’ve always led us true. We trust you with our lives.”

* * *

Lio rose with the sun. He left with Meis and Guiera while Galo slept, tiptoeing over the scattered forms of what was left of their group. When Galo woke, he was alone.

 _Thank god, it must have been a dream_ , Galo thought, tears springing to his eyes as the morning sun seared through his eyelids.

He’d expected his alarm clock by now--and had he fallen asleep on the floor again? Galo grunted and sat up, rubbing at his eyes until he could pry them open.

Cold sweat drenched him again.

The Burnish who had been sleeping in the room had collected their things and left, but Galo could hear general chatter outside. Instead of moonlight, sun poured in through the holes in the wall.

“Shit--not a dream?” 

This didn’t make sense. None of this made sense. Not the location or the way Lio treated him--with a tender familiarity that boggled Galo’s mind.

Galo pinched his arm--hard--and winced at the lingering pain. He did not wake. 

_What am I doing here_ , he wondered. If he was a prisoner, he’d be tied up, he reasoned. There was no sign of injury on his body, and when he felt his head where Vulcan had kicked him, there was no knot. 

Galo looked down at his hand, staring at the half-gloves clinging to his palms.

Those weren’t his.

His vision trailed down to leather pants, a dull sheen outlining where they wrapped firmly around his thighs.

Those _definitely_ weren’t his.

He fumbled for the jacket that had dropped from his torso when he sat up, staring at the spiked epaulettes and navy stitching against supple black leather.

Was _this_ supposed to be his too?

Another shiver wracked his body, and with a disgusted sigh, Galo thrust the jacket on over his shoulders and let it hang open over his bare chest.

Fine. He’d wear it.

He eased himself to his feet, wincing at the cold of the floor before he found a pair of heavy black boots he assumed were his. He stooped down to tug them on and zipped them up with a long sigh.

But why had they taken his _clothes_ and left him with these? Galo chewed his lip and plucked at the leather pants with his thumb and pointer finger. They snapped back into place when he let go. _So tight_. How had they even wrestled him into these?

Galo shuddered. No, he didn’t want to think about that.

There was nothing left to do but to head for the door. If he was lucky, maybe he could make his way out of this camp and back home without any fuss.

A shipping container, Galo realized, as he climbed out of the hole in the corrugated metal and emerged into a desert. Several other containers lay scattered across the sand, forming a semi circle around a firepit sustained only by the Burnish power. Twenty Burnish huddled around it, wrapped in blankets. Lio, Guiera, and Meis were nowhere in sight.

Several of the Burnish looked up and gestured Galo over.

Galo approached, brow furrowing. Those closest to the fire were shivering uncontrollably. When Galo inspected closer, he saw their eyelashes beading with frost and a dull sheen to pale skin, like they were encased in a thin layer of ice. One woman looked up at him, teeth chattering, but patted her hand on the cinderblock next to her.

Galo joined her, placing a hand on her shoulder then flinching away. She was frigid.

So all of that stuff Lio said last night… this was the aftermath…

Something in Galo’s heart wrenched sideways. “Are you...are you going to be okay?” he asked around the knot in his throat.

She nodded. “I have to be.” She let out a shuddering sigh. “I just wanted to thank you...for really sticking your neck out for us the day before. It’s because of you...we even made it out alive. You saved Lio’s life...and all of our own.”

“I--” Galo clamped his mouth shut.

 _He did_?

“Galo--” That same soft voice cut through the haze. Quiet, with an authority that demanded attention.

Lio waded in through the circle, Guiera and Meis at his heels. He handed Galo a loaf of bread, still steaming hot. “Help pass this around.” 

Mirroring the Burnish leader’s actions, Galo started ripping the bread into chunks and distributing it to those closest to him. Meis and Guiera handed out flagons of water.

Lio planted himself beside Galo, standing at one side as he overlooked the group with an unreadable expression. They ate solemnly.

“Are you feeling any better?” Lio murmured.

Galo nodded--too quickly. One wrong move and suddenly everyone could realize that Galo wasn’t actually a Burnish--that he was an enemy infiltrate who didn’t actually belong here--

“Good,” Lio said. There was an odd warmth to the smile touching his lips that did little to hide the relief flooding his eyes. “I was worried.”

“Oh--well--”

Lio placed a hand on his shoulder with a small hum. “Take it easy, okay? Tomorrow morning we travel again, but for tonight I need you and Guiera to watch over camp.” Then he turned his gaze back outward and began to speak.

“I have an announcement to make.”

The Burnish shuffled a little, chewing through the last of their bread and washing it down with gulps of water.

“We’re going to the outskirts of Promepolis. It’s about a three hour journey if we manage to secure a truck. A few days if we have to walk. We finally got a hold of a signal from the tracker on Aiden and have confirmed that she’s there. I’m going to be putting together a team to scope out the area and see what we’re up against, but in the meantime Meis and I need to attend to some business--namely finding a truck and anything we can use to patch ourselves up. Galo and Gueira will oversee camp. Does anyone have any concerns?”

A quiet lingered, punctuated by a few coughs and the chattering of teeth.

Lio nodded. “In the meantime, try to stay as warm as you can. We removed the bullets from you...so your bodies should return to an equilibrium. Just hang in there..” He paused to clasp a hand on Galo’s shoulder. “Hold down the fort as best you can. We’ll be back soon.”

Then Lio and Meis stepped away from the fire toward the edge of the cluster of shipping containers. Flames seeped up their bodies in hard shells that solidified into armor that built up around them and out into motorcycles. These forms were larger than life--what Galo recognized as the Mad Burnish armor that he’d fought before, gleaming black with pink shine and jagged lightning horns--all angles and sleek, jutting edges. The motorcycles snarled and lurched forward in a cloud of sand. They ripped into the distance, leaving trails of fire cutting through the desert.

Guiera whistled long and low. “Love that shit.” He plunked down beside Galo and punched his shoulder. “Kind of jealous we have to stay behind, but, I think we can keep ourselves pretty entertained. Lio did say no joyrides, though, so bummer...”

“Yeah, the, uh, motorcycle thing is a cool Burnish feature…” Galo said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Can all Burnish do that?”

Gueira furrowed his brow and looked askance at him. 

_Ah shit_ , Galo thought. Was he supposed to know this?

“I don’t think so,” Guiera finally said. “I think it depends on how strong you are as a Burnish. Different people took differently to the mutation. Like Lio is the strongest Burnish we know so he can do all kinds of wild shit. You, me, and Meis are also pretty strong.”

Galo stared at his hands. Did he hear that correctly.

 _He_ was a Burnish? There was no way in hell.

Galo coughed a little. “So, uh, how did you find out you were a Burnish?” He asked. “Like, uh...where were you when it happened?”

“My awakening? Miami,” Gueira said with a huge grin. “I was down at the beach slurping up margaritas with a bunch of hot chicks and even hotter dudes. Having a grand old time. Then the voices started--”

 _Voices_?

“And next thing I knew, all the beach umbrellas were on fire. The boats were on fire. My _drink_ was on fire. Hell, the ocean was practically on fire and I was standing amidst all of it just confused to all fuck.” Geuira shrugged with an easy smile. “I ran as fast as I could. Next thing I know, I find Meis somewhere in goddamn Texas and we’re taking over the Mad Burnish til Lio and then you came along.”

A thousand more questions rolled around in Galo’s head--but there had to be a limit to what he could ask before Guiera got suspicious.

“You, uh--the voices? Are they constant--I mean, for you?”

“It varies person to person,” Geuira said. “Usually it’s just an itch you can ignore, but it’ll start to build until you’re forced to burn something. Like an instinct that’s screaming in your head…” He chewed his lip. 

“And Meis and Lio?”

Geuira hummed. “Meis had a similar story. It was just me and him for a while. As for boss? He’s never said and I’ve never asked…” Geuira cocked his head. “What about you, anyway, big guy? I’ve only heard bits and pieces of your story. Like the whole shit about that Kray dude framing you for a fire he caused so he can live undercover as some kind of normie. Stuff like that and you being on the run since a kid...”

Galo froze. His mind went blank. “Oh, uh…”

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Geuira said with a shrug. “It’s a touchy topic.”

“Yeah,” Galo managed. 

_So that dream had been--_

“This is the most we’ve really talked,” Guiera said, patting his shoulder. “You talk to boss plenty enough, but we haven’t really had time to sit down and just shoot the shit. You’ve always been a little bit quiet. Aloof, even. Glad to see you’re coming out of your shell.”

 _In what goddamn universe have I ever been quiet_ , Galo wondered, scratching his head. He didn’t know how to respond, so he laughed weakly. “Yeah, for sure…” 

He surveyed the group once again as the sun steadily climbed over head. The fire roared a constant between them, the heart of the camp. How broken they all looked, huddled there together, chewing on scraps of bread and clinging to each other.

“Lio--he really cares, doesn’t he,” Galo blurted out. 

A softness flitted across Geuira’s face. “Yeah…he bears the heaviest burden of us all. But he cares so damn much…”

“I can see that,” Galo murmured. He climbed to his feet, rubbing his temples. “Sorry, I just--I just need a minute, yeah?”

“Of course, big guy,” Geuira said, flashing him a thumbs up. “I’m going to go ahead and start seeing what I can do about warming some of our people up. Join me in a bit. Two pairs of hands are better than one.” He left Galo there to his own devices.

Galo stared down at his hands. The mental gymnastics gave his brain whiplash; he winced against a headache. This wasn’t some mistake, somehow. They knew him--Galo--as a member of their own--but how did his own memories not match up with any of this. Which reality was real?

Galo scoffed. There was no way in _hell_ that he was a Burnish. Fire was what took his family away from him. He wouldn’t be the one to cause them. He was the one to protect the city. To put them out.

But then his eyes trailed up his arm, where his compression sleeve would have been. The skin was unmarred.

A prickle wormed its way up Galo’s back. The hairs on the nape of his neck stood on end.

A heat seeped from the veins popping out in his arm, a slow surge toward his fingers.

A voice settled into the back of his skull--just a whisper--a whim--that urged him to _burn._

Galo shuddered, shaking his head, but drew his hand up toward his face, fingers slowly uncurling.

Pink and blue flame sparked from his fingertips.

* * *

Promepolis was only an hour away by the Burnish Motorcycle. Lio and Meis found themselves in a glass elevator, whirring through a stack of balconies overlooking a massive atrium. On each floor, plants spilled out over brushed metal railings, dumping leaves over impeccable shiny square tile. Sunlight filtered in blue through tinted windows. The skyscraper felt almost sterile as well-kept as it was.

The elevator eased to a stop on the 50th floor with a chime. Exchanging looks, Lio and Meis stepped into the hallway. 

“I’ll just be a moment,” Lio said.

Meis nodded. “You got it, Boss. I’ll wait outside unless you signal me.”

Lio hummed and patted his shoulder. “Thanks, Meis.”

He strode toward the door, pausing to stare up at the nameplate there, hand poised to knock.

_Kray Foresight._


	3. A Familiar Role

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Galo falls into his role as a member of Mad Burnish. Despite his lack of memory, it all feels familiar. Lio asks Galo to accompany him on a special run into Promepolis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's an update! Thank you for your patience--with Katsucon etc, I was a little run ragged with everything going on. I can only manage small chunks of updates in between school obligations, but I'll do my best to keep updating.
> 
> I'm very excited for the angst and a little bit more GaloLio relationship building in the following chapter, so stay tuned. :)

“Wine?”

Lio shook his head, holding up a hand against one of two stemmed glasses intertwined in Kray Foresight’s fingers. Kray set them down on a marble table with a little _clink_ , but popped the cork to the bottle and poured some for himself. Red and full-bodied, it spiralled and broke in on itself up the side of the glass, then settled. Kray took a sip.

Lio turned to face the window--floor to ceiling glass that cast an afternoon glow across immaculate black tile floors. The shadows drawn from the massive desk and the two men seeped up the wall like thick prison bars. The room, other than a few chairs and small tables, was otherwise unfurnished. Lio sighed, squinting against the sun bursting off of the skyscrapers clustered around this one.

Damn claustrophobic. Lio preferred wide open spaces and the endless expanse of sky overhead. This? This was a cage with a view.

“So,” Kray said, leaning his hip against the edge of his desk, wine glass still poised against his lips. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Lio, was it?”

“Don’t play coy,” Lio said, tossing his hair over his shoulder. He lingered by the window a beat longer, but then turned to face Kray. His shoulders were relaxed and cool nonchalance rolled off of him, but fire warmed his fingertips. He watched Kray’s every move. “You know why I’m here.”

Kray hummed into his wine, lips twitching into an infuriating little smile. “I don’t know where you get the idea that I would ever help the Burnish, when I’ve devoted my life to fighting your devilish little quirks. I like my city a little less crisp than you’d prefer it.”

Lio scoffed. “See, I know for a fact that you are a coward, Kray Foresight. You hide behind your technology and your foundation and your plastic little smile. But you’re a coward.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You also hid behind a little boy to save your own reputation and skin,” Lio said, crossing his arms. “And that little boy took the fall for your actions and happened to grow up to be one of my own. He’s told me your little secret, Kray. I know that you’re a Burnish, just like me.”

Kray scoffed. “Oh. Galo Thymos. I would have killed him if it wasn’t for so many prying eyes. What a little nuisance, even now.” He absently swirled the wine around in his glass. 

Lio frowned. “See, what I always wanted to know is why you’d go so far out of your way to betray your own people by creating anti-burnish weaponry. Was it not just enough to hide and live a normal life?”

A chuckle reverberated deep in Kray’s chest. “It’s not even me you have to worry about, Lio. It’s my competitor that’s out for blood. Archer Salve wants to see you all crushed for the sheer joy of it. I’m just out for a buck. Look at the alternative. I was a poor grad student working on all of this tech when I turned. I’d already put my life into place and nothing was going to ruin that. So what, the kid had to take a fall for me. It’s not like he wouldn’t have eventually sparked his own disaster.”

Lio’s teeth grit. “Well. All of that is about to change, regardless, because it’s time for a reality check.”

“So, you intend to blackmail me?” Kray said. He set the wine glass down, drawing up to loom over Lio. “I am nothing like you and your terrorist scum. I am _important_ to this city and your word against mine will get you nowhere with this.”

Lio did not back down. “Oh, you know how quickly that they will turn the minute they realize you’re a Burnish. No matter how stellar your reputation, how clean your record, how good or popular you are. They’ll only see you for the mutation. They’ll turn on you just like they did the rest of us, only you’ll be alone, without a place with the Burnish _or_ the humans. In a society that _you_ helped stack against us.”   
  
Lio’s sword--green and white and jagged, unfolded from his fingertips in an arc of glinting blade. “Do you know the hell they put five year old Galo Thymos through because of your little charade? It’ll be tenfold for you, because _they trusted you_ and that betrayal of trust will _terrify_ them. That even one of the top benefactors of Promepolis and political candidate can be _like that._ A Burnish. And that he could hide it so well.”

Lio flicked the tip of the sword to Kray’s neck. “And it won’t be my word against yours. It’ll be your word against yours, because you will defend yourself and show yourself for what you are for all of Promepolis to see, or you will die shitting yourself in the corner of your office. It’s up to you.”

Kray swallowed against the searing heat of the steel. “I thought your whole schtick was that you didn’t kill.”

“Without reason,” Lio said. "And I'm an animal backed into a corner." He narrowed his eyes at Kray. “So what will it be?”

Kray allowed himself another little smile. He chuckled as he nudged Lio’s sword to one side. “Fine, Lio Fotia. What is it that you need from me. How did you see this playing out.”

Lio lowered the sword, but kept both hands wrapped tightly around the hilt. He stared Kray in the eyes. “I’m going to keep your secret close to me and my own. If anything happens to me, it spills, and it’s all over before you know it. I just want tech--cooling mechanisms and anything that can help us evade city scanners. Anything that can counteract the effects of those absolute zero bullets too. I know you use these items for yourself. Provide all of this, and we’ll allow you to continue your little charade, dancing for the city in this disgraceful manner. Do we have a deal.”

They locked eyes. For a full minute, neither spoke, silhouettes stark against the windows.

“Fine,” Kray snapped. “If you think it’ll do you any good on this uphill battle of yours. Then we have a deal.” He gestured to the door. “The sooner you’re out of my office, the better. I’ll show you to my testing sight and you can take what you need.”

“Excellent,” Lio said. The sword snapped back into the spark of flame in his hand, which he crushed into his fist. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Don’t think this will last.”

* * *

Galo Thymos’s extensive Burning Rescue medical training could not have prepared him for the injuries he treated at the Mad Burnish camp. Smoke inhalation, minor burns, sprains, lacerations, broken bones--those he could treat. But the sheer cold that seemed to permeate the Burnish who huddled around the fire, toes and fingertips blue and frostbitten? He was at a loss.

“We’re going to need a little more firepower than the usual,” Guiera said. “Blankets aren’t gonna cut it here--” Guiera cupped a young man’s hands in his own and let flames flow over both of them. “Something like this…” 

The man sighed in relief, but the moment Guiera’s flames died away, his teeth started chattering and a violent shiver wracked his body once more. A few younger children sat in the tiny campfire, knees drawn to their chest as they wept and trembled.

“Lio said they just had to wait it out--but do they really have that in them?” Galo asked. He’d followed Guiera’s example and washed his fire out over several other Burnish--just a bandaid for temporary relief. The more he called upon the flames, the more naturally they came, like a muscle he’d learned to flex.

“We could build a bonfire, maybe,” Guiera said, scratching his head. “But I think that would be like a beacon to our enemies. We have to be discrete--” He spat into the dirt. “What a pain. This sucks!”

Galo stared up at the sun, which had started to sink down the horizon. With it came a chill that hugged the desert as the cool of shadows sunk into the rocks and crevices. He pulled his jacket on just a little tighter and plopped down on the cinderblock, rocking back and forth a little to ignore the hunger gnawing at his stomach. “Isn’t Lio supposed to be returning eventually?”

Guiera glanced up and scanned the horizon. “Yeah, I’d expect so….”

“If he doesn’t come back soon, where are we supposed to get food from?” Galo asked. “I know I can’t be the only one who is hungry.”

“We still have a stash of non-perishables we can dig into,” Guiera said. “No worries there. Chef’s choice, cold beans. Maybe some corn if we’re lucky.”

A cloud of dust kicked up in the distance, and Guiera leapt up in excitement, thrusting a finger in that direction. “Either that’s someone we need to fuck up, or that’s boss himself right on cue!”

A general murmur of fresh life rippled through the camp.

Guiera squinted. “Yeah, that looks like boss’s Detroit and a truck--they’re back in one piece.”

Galo stood as well. The hope on the Burnish faces at the approach of their leader was not lost on him.

They pulled up toward the encampment, parking the cargo truck between several of the shipping containers. Meis stepped out, turning to retrieve a box from the passenger seat. Lio’s motorcycle skidded to a halt with a slosh of sand that sprayed the side of the truck. As soon as he stepped off of it, it fell away into jagged fragments that caught in the wind and drifted away.

“We’re home,” Lio said, with a wry smile. He rubbed at his temples. “How’s camp?” He accepted the box from Meis and moved toward the fire to start handing out fresh loaves of bread, jugs of water, and large tupperware full of beans. “Managed to make a food run on our way back.” He approached Galo last with his share.

Somehow Lio looked more exhausted than when he left, Galo thought, studying the dark circles there and a sort of fatigue that had dulled his eyes. He accepted the food with a weary smile of his own. 

“I’m glad you made it back safely,” Galo said. The feeling surprised him.

Guiera had made a beeline to Meis and fistbumped him. They chattered quietly as they pulled away to the center of camp to eat.

Lio watched them go, but put a hand on Galo’s shoulder. “I’m glad too. Everything went well.” He pulled a satchel from his pocket. “I did manage to get these.” He shook it out, spilling several prescription med bottles of pills out into Galo’s outstretched hands. “Two each for anyone hit with those freezing bullets should help thaw them out more quickly. I was told that they’re fairly fast acting, but they may not fully bring relief for a few hours at most.”

Galo’s shoulders sagged with relief. “Oh thank god. I was kind of worried about how they were going to hold on much longer.” He glanced back where several others had waded into the fire. “If you don’t mind, I’ll give these out right away.”

Lio nodded. “Yes, but come right back. We need to talk.”

Galo administered the pills and watched as each person gulped them down with water. They huddled together, though eventually the shivering died down and some color returned to their cheeks. A few were able to ignite their own flames to bathe under. Others shared theirs with those still recovering.

 _Thank god_ , Galo thought. It was hard watching these people suffer. Finally, he helped himself to a few bites of bread before returning to Lio. “Looks like it’s all in order. Those pills are like miracle pills. Where did you get them?”

Lio tensed but shook his head. “I had some contacts in Promepolis. I was lucky to convince them to help.”

Galo’s brow furrowed, but he let it slide. “Okay. Well, what did you want to talk about?” Vaguely, he wondered how long he’d known Lio. With what level of familiarity and rapport should he address him?

“I need your help,” Lio said, eyes setting out over the camp. He watched the Burnish share their meal, a fresh energy to their chatter and laughter finally punctuating their ranks. His expression softened. 

“Yeah? With what?”

“Well, first, I wanted to confirm that you’re up for it.”

“Yeah--I’m fine,” Galo said, patting at one of his biceps for emphasis. “I mean, watching camp was a little tiring, but I’m ready to help anywhere that I can. A change of pace will be good, so I feel like we’re actually moving forward.”

A soft smile touched Lio’s lips and he nodded. “You’re so reliable. Thank you.” He hummed. “I don’t know where we would be without you.”

Something prickled on the back of Galo’s neck. A tinge of pink rose in his cheeks and he looked away, swallowing. “I just do my part.” It wasn’t _not_ true. He’d fallen so easily into his role here, that he must have been shouldering it for a long time. He glanced sideways at Lio, studying him.

In the evening light, there was something demure about the vulnerability in such soft-spoken words. Galo could almost feel the care at which Lio picked them out, as if he were too shy to say all that he truly felt. It hung heavy between them, but comfortably so. _Familiar._

“That last raid especially,” Lio murmured. “I might not be here today if not for you.” He chewed his lip, but cleared his throat. “But, that’s not what I wanted to talk about. If you’re up for it, I need your help with something.”

Galo nodded. “Yes. Anything.”

 _Really, Galo,_ he thought.

The last thing he remembered was fighting tooth and nail with this man.

But then again, none of any of this made sense. The universe put him here. He’d have to roll with it. And seeing just what lengths this man would go through for his people? It tugged at something in Galo that had always driven him to save others. The whole reason he’d joined Burning Rescue in the first place.

“We’re going on a run closer to Promepolis,” Lio explained. “Just you and me on our bikes. We’re going to try to find Aiden.”

Galo clamped his mouth shut to stop himself from asking who the flying fuck Aiden was. This was something Burnish Galo would certainly know.

“I’m a little worried something happened to her or that she defected,” Lio continued with a sigh, rubbing his temples. “But, the tracker shows movement. So...at the very least, I think she’s alive. The only thing is to go investigate and hopefully bring her home, which means we may need to enter the city. Don’t worry, we have means to avoid detection now. We should be relatively safe.”

“Right,” Galo said.

Lio reached his hands out and the bike handles materialized into his palms, sleek metal unfolding out into the motorcycle beneath him. Burnish armor snaked up his legs, encasing his body in black, jutting edges and electric spikes.

“Armor up,” Lio said, somehow larger than life in the extra two feet the pointed feet that his armor afforded him. His voice was amplified somewhere behind the jagged teeth of his helmet. 

Galo swallowed, looking Lio up and down then casting his gaze to his own bare hands.

How the _fuck_ was he supposed to do that.

He could feel Lio’s expectant stare on him.

He took a deep breath and drew on the fountain of flame within him.

If it was like anything else he’d done, his body knew what to do naturally. He just had to dig deep...

Galo closed his eyes. An image of a motorcycle sprung to his mind--taller than Lio’s, which was long and low, sleek but lithe--wheels thicker and heavier and frame bulkier. He willed it into the space in front of him, hands gripping thin air expectantly. 

The flames rose from his body and boiled as smoke and fire into the shape of a classic harley, all black and tinged blue, with spikes jutting off exhaust pipes. The flames slithered up his body and bound into tight armor that lifted him a foot off the ground in his own pointed shoes. Galo stumbled a little, catching himself on the handlebars with a yelp. The motorcycle revved beneath him--connected to him in the same way he felt the pounding of his heart in his ears. He felt it purr beneath him like a wild animal.

He caught a glimpse of his armor in the sideview mirror on the bike. Spikes along his helmet mimicked his mohawk from front to back, long and sinister. Similar spikes clustered along the shoulder pads and down his arms. Otherwise, the armor was sleek and angular across the broad of his chest, cinching in at the waist, and blooming out at the thighs again. Similar teeth to Lio’s armor sprawled a lazy grin across the helmet face.

 _Holy shit,_ Galo breathed. He glanced at Lio, as if seeking approval--or any indication that he’d done this correctly.

None came--Lio merely shifted onto his own bike, twisting at the handles to rev his engine. “Let’s ride.”


	4. Stakeout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lio and Galo enter Promepolis to search for Aiden. Galo sees some familiar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, it's been a while! This semester is really busy for me because I'm trying to graduate, and everything that's going on right now is really unpredictable and scary on top of it, so I'm very sorry for my inconsistencies. Stay safe out there, friends. :( I hope you enjoy this chapter and that it helps with some of the boredom or stress.

The bike cut through the desert like a razor, straining against Galo like an overeager animal yet yielding to the gentlest of touches. It was all heat and flames and snarling vibrations that pummeled every one of Galo’s nerves and sank its teeth into the pounding of his heart. Wind whistled past his helmet. Flames spat backward in the onslaught of sand—belied by the calm of evening as it sank further into night. Slathered with stars, the sky was vast and clear. 

The desert unfolding before Galo was an endless expanse. No speed limits. No limitations. Just pure adrenaline. Galo whooped on the top of his lungs.

He could have sworn he heard Lio chuckle over the headset.

“Sorry—didn’t mean to basically yell in your ear—” Galo said.

“You’re in good spirits today,” Lio responded. He swerved his bike, fishtailing to splatter sand over Galo. A smirk dripped from his voice. “Something good happen?”

The sand barely scathed Galo’s armor. “No, it’s—it’s just good to move around a little bit today,” Galo said. He laughed in spite of himself. _So he’s got a playful side,_ Galo thought, shaking his head. He revved that much faster, but did not retaliate. 

“True,” Lio said. “I get that way too.” He veered off toward the left. “We’ll be able to see Promepolis in maybe ten minutes or so when we crest this hill. We’re going to have to put the bikes away in a hot second.”

Galo’s chest tightened. Would Promepolis be the same place he’d called home all these years—or did he no longer have that right in this universe?

He followed Lio up the hill, halting just short of the top. As Lio stepped off the bike, it shattered into flame and wisped out. He was left in just his leather jacket and pants; he straightened his cravat with a sigh.

Galo followed suit. The abrupt stop in motion left phantoms of vibrations up and down Galo’s body and a ringing in his ears. Another laugh spilled out of him, and he shook his head. 

“Something tells me you really needed this joyride,” Lio said calmly, watching him from the corner of his eye. “I’m glad you feel a little better.”

Galo opened his mouth, but before he could respond, Lio was already digging through his bag. 

“Okay,” Lio said. He wiped at the sweat plastering his bangs to his forehead with the back of his hand. “You will need to wear this.” He pulled out what looked like a silver chain from his bag and pooled it into Galo’s outstretched hand. His tongue stuck from the corner of his mouth as he fastened his own around his neck. It lay just below the zipper of his jacket, lost to the folds of the cravat.

“What is that?” Galo asked, staring at the delicate chain in his hand. He fumbled with sausage fingers trying to work the clasp open behind his own neck.

Lio sighed and motioned him to turn around. Galo did so.

“You’re going to have to duck a little bit too,” he said.

“Right, sorry,” Galo said, kneeling just slightly. He felt Lio’s deft fingers fasten the chain and tug to make sure it was secure. A puff of warm air sent shivers down his spine.

“Okay, you’re good,’ Lio said, drawing away. “It’s technology that’s supposed to cool us down enough that censors don’t detect us in the city. Basically it makes us an average human body temperature.” He sighed at Galo though. “We stick out too much for the amount of mingling and wandering we’ll probably have to do. We’re going to have to dress the part.”

“Dress…the part?” Galo asked. 

“I packed some clothes,” Lio said, “With any luck we won’t need to use our flames. Normal clothes aren’t exactly flame resistant…” 

The wad of clothes he tossed at Galo landed squarely against his chest. Galo caught them without thinking. Grey sweats and a black long-sleeved t-shirt. This he could work with. “Right,” Galo said. He turned the other way to peel the leather pants from him and shimmy into the sweats. However, the moment he tugged his leather jacket free and exposed his bare torso to the night sky, a shudder ripped through him. “It’s _cold_ out—how did I not notice it before—”

Lio’s laugh was quiet, accentuated by the chattering of his teeth. He was halfway into a t-shirt of his own. “I’m not used to feeling this cold either—"

“This—this is human body temperature?” Galo asked, tugging at the chain with one hand. He wrestled into his shirt.

Lio nodded. “Thirty-seven Celsius”

Galo stared blankly.

“98.6 degrees Fahrenheit,” Lio muttered. “Or something like that.” He scrabbled inside his bag and yanked out a hoodie, which he squirmed into. “Okay—that’s better.” He jammed both fists into the front pocket with a sigh, after stowing their clothes into his bag. “Ready?” he asked, gesturing toward the hill.

Galo glanced at Lio. In a hoodie, which fell halfway down his thighs, Lio looked more petite than he ever could in the tailored angles of his previous ensemble. Where he was once sleek and sharp, he was now soft. 

“Y-yeah,” Galo said, nodding furiously. “Lead the way, boss.”

Promepolis dominated the skyline as they crested the hill, a pocket of glowing warmth in the middle of the desert. Square skyscrapers screamed order in the amorphous dunes of the desert, standing defiantly against the howl of the wind and the sprawl of the land.

A sort of homesickness punched Galo in the gut. “So, remind me what the mission is here—” he said, taking the foot path down the hill. “I mean, find Aiden. Bring her home. But how do we go about that?”

“Right,” Lio said, “For now, we track her down.” He pulled the little tablet from his bag and handed it off to Galo. “See that little pulsing dot? That’s her tracker. We find her and bring her home.”

“You mentioned that she might have defected? What then? You can’t exactly drag her back home if she’s unwilling right.”

Lio shrugged, brows furrowing. “It’s also possible she’s being held against her will. I promised her that I’d have her back, no matter what.”

Galo chewed his lip. He silently urged Lio to keep talking—to betray more clues as to what was going on. But Lio had quickened his pace and was already three or four steps ahead of Galo. Galo lunged forward to catch up.

Before long, the looming Promepolis swallowed them up into its orderly grid. Galo took a deep breath and craned his neck back to skim the tallest of the skyscrapers. With an odd pang, he realized he could no longer see the stars for the light clinging to the city air. 

“Okay, it looks like according to this tracker she’s—” Lio squinted down at the map on the tracker. “Hm…”

Galo took a hold of Lio’s hand and brought the tracker closer to his own face. “Oh, that’s thirty-seven and North.” He jabbed a finger at the outline of a building nearby. “See? That’s the Natural History Museum right next to it. I can get us there easily.”

Lio blinked. “Even after all those years? You know your way around?”

Galo hesitated and shrugged. “It’s hard to forget a place like Promepolis, even years apart.”

“It’s just that I thought you were a kid when you were chased off. When I found you, you’d been wandering the desert for years.”

A prickle ran down Galo’s spine; he swallowed the lump in his chest. The only clue he had about what had happened to him in the past twenty-odd years was the one memory of Kray, and it wasn’t like he could _ask_ for more details. Gritting his teeth, he shook his head and shrugged. “It is what it is. Come on. We don’t have time to waste.”

Promepolis was bustling, even at night. The lights of courier advertisements raced along corners down the block. Videos projected onto the sides of buildings advertised anti-Burnish weaponry, the news, hygiene products, the newest tech—all caught in rumbling snippets as the pair siphoned through the mingling crowds.

Galo felt his heart soar—oh how he’d miss the hum of the city and its people and the smells of streetfood in their little carts, the way senses intertwined until it was all just white noise. It came naturally to him, sidestepping through mobs of people, the stop and go at traffic lights, blinking against the artificial light.

“Lio this—”

Galo froze. 

Lio had vanished from his side.

Galo’s head whipped around, surveying the block. “Lio?”

He felt a tug at his sleeve and turned.

“Sorry,” Lio said, staring pointedly at the ground. He did not let his hand drop.

The pair stood like a rock in the stream.

Galo’s expression softened. “Let’s take a breather,” he said, taking Lio’s hand in his and tugging him toward the nearest alley. 

The alley was immaculate. Trash was considered a fire-hazard, after all, and thus was contained very strictly to metal bins. Street cleaners ran twice a night to pick up stray litter.

“Take a few deep breaths,” Galo said, once he’d tucked Lio into the wall there. Like Lio had done for him, he rested his forehead against Lio’s and sent a gentle surge of warm through him.

“I’m fine,” Lio mumbled.

“A few deep breaths.”

Lio grumbled but drew in a breath. He exhaled slowly.

“Again.”

Lio did so again. He let his head thunk back against the side of the building, staring blankly upward. “I’m sorry, I just need to adjust. I’ve been in a vehicle every other time I’ve been here. Or starting fires so people are scrambling away…”

“It’s okay,” Galo said. “You’re not used to crowds.”

“It’s not that. It’s all these people walking around me so cluelessly. If they knew me for what I was, they’d be scared shitless.” Lio closed his eyes. “God, the urge to burn it all down just gets stronger the closer I am to the city, too… I can’t tell if it’s my own resentment or the voices in my head at this point.” With a sigh, he pushed off the wall, shouldering Galo aside, but turning back to look at him. “I should be okay now. Let’s go. Lead the way, Galo.”

Galo kept a tight hold on Lio’s hand this time as they ventured deeper into the city. 

“There!” Galo said, thrusting a finger toward a columned building sitting on a pedestal of stairs. Banners depicting dinosaurs and sea creatures adorned its sides. “That’s the Natural History Museum—So, the place we want is just down the street.” Galo scanned the street and pointed. “I think it’s that one.”

The building was innocuous enough, about half the height of some of the buildings clustered around it. A rusty, barred door with a lone window peered into an empty lobby, guarded by a keypad that pulsed a gentle red when Galo approached. He stared blankly at the number keys there. 

“Looks like it’s got a code, though,” Galo said. He chewed his lip.

“Salve Enterprises,” Lio muttered, tracing his fingertips over the little plaque on the door. He drew a sharp breath in through clenched teeth.

“You okay?” Galo asked.

Lio shook his head. “This is bad news. This building belongs to Archer Salve.” He stood on his tiptoes to peer into the window. “But it doesn’t _look_ like an industry building. Or even a prison…There aren’t any obvious _guards_ or anything like that.”

Burnish prisons were usually underground anyway, and not this flammable. Lio double-checked the tracker.

“She’s definitely in there. And moving around.”

The handle of the door jiggled.

Galo all but tossed Lio to one side, flattening his back beside him against the side of the building. With a sharp wheeze, the door swung open. Several women walked out in white laboratory coats, carefully securing the door behind them. Oblivious to Galo and Lio, they walked across the street.

The pair exchanged looks. 

“I don’t think storming this building is a wise idea. Not when we know nothing about it or what’s in there,” Lio said. “Could be loaded with security that we’re not seeing. And Salve weapons are no joke.”

“This would be a good time to have a computer,” Galo said.

“It’s likely classified information,” Lio said. “That’s why this building looks so nondescript.”

“Then the only answer…is a stakeout,” Galo said. He thrust a finger toward a squat, windowed building across the street. “And that’s the perfect place--!”

He dragged Lio across the street and through the door of the building, immediately drawing in a deep breath. The aroma of pizza swelled inside of him and with it came a gnawing hunger.

Lio blinked rapidly. “Pizza--?”

Galo was already dragging him toward a booth near the window, where they had a clear view of the Salve building. “See? We can sit and eat and keep an eye on it.”

“How will we pay for it?” Lio asked, sinking into the plastic of the booth regardless. He rested his chin on his hands and stared blankly out the window. “I have some money, but it’s for necessities…”

Galo’s heart sank as he patted at his pockets. Of course, he didn’t have money either. His job and his wallet were from the other reality. 

“Can I help you with anything?” 

A tan man with a crooked nose stood over their table, holding a pad and a pencil.

 _The Burnish from the other reality_ , Galo realized. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words.

The cook blanched. “Mr. Fotia…”

Lio blinked. “Toni?”

Toni glanced side to side, leaning in with a rushed whisper. “I already told you, I was going to stick around Promepolis. I’m not joining the Mad Burnish. I just want to make pizza…”

“I’m not here for you,” Lio murmured. “And I’d never take away your right to choose your life.” He gestured across the street. “I just need to make use of this booth for a while, if you’d be kind enough to accommodate us…”

Toni sagged from relief but nodded frantically. “Of course, of course. Anything for the boss—I’ll bring you food and I won’t let them kick you out—” He was gone in a flash, as if worried that Lio would change his mind.

The pizzeria was almost empty, save for a few stragglers nursing their beers in the corners and along the walls. They were far enough away that Galo felt confident in their bubble of privacy. He took the tracker from Lio’s hands. “I’ll keep an eye on this, don’t worry. Just sit for a while. You’ve had a long day.”

The bell on the door peeled out and with it came commotion.

Men and women decked out in red pants and jackets, adorned with yellow threes.

Galo froze.

Aina and Remy went up to the front to order while Varys, Ignis, Lucia, and Vinny piled into a booth across the restaurant. Varys told a joke and the whole group buzzed with laughter and overlapping chatter.

“Hey—” 

Galo’s heart leapt into his throat. He turned, face to face with Aina, and his brain completely shorted out. He struggled for any kind of response.

Had she recognized him after all?

Aina’s hands were already on the back of a chair that was pushed into the head of Galo and Lio’s booth. “Is it okay if we steal this? We just need one more seat.”

Something _wrenched_ at Galo’s heart. He fought the urge to duck under the table. Of course they wouldn’t recognize him—they didn’t know him. That whole life—the lifelong friendships he’d made in the line of duty—that didn’t exist here.

Galo tripped over his words, but Lio cut in. “Yes, feel free.”

“Thanks a bunch!” She dragged it away.

Galo took a deep breath.

“We look like civilians, there’s no need to worry,” Lio said. “Burning Rescue is harmless anyway. If anything, they work in tandem for what we Mad Burnish do. Put out the fires that we must create, so that innocent people aren’t hurt. It’s Freeze Force that I hate.”

Galo nodded, rubbing his temples against the dull buzz now ringing in his ears. He counted down slowly from ten until his heart eased back into his chest.

He turned away from Burning Rescue, instead focusing on Lio.

This was his life now. This was his mission. He didn’t understand any of it, but he had to give his all. There would be time to mourn later.

“Yeah, Burning Rescue is A-okay by my book,” Galo managed.

Toni returned with a piping hot pizza. Globs of cheese swam in red sauce, separating into strings when Galo tugged a slice from the circle. Galo steeled himself, urging himself to cheer up. The pizza was a good distraction.

“Dig in,” Galo said. “Just be careful—you might burn your tongue—”

Lio scoffed. “In what universe would a Burnish burn their tongue on anything?”

Galo blinked rapidly. “Good point.” He smiled in spite of himself, dumping the pizza all at once into his mouth and chewing rapidly. Where he’d normally be fanning his mouth and sputtering at the heat of it, he felt nothing. He slurped it down with a grin.

“I haven’t had pizza in a _long_ time,” Lio said, nibbling at the very end of his. His eyes lit up. He took a bigger bite. “Not since before I became a Burnish…I’ve been on the run for so long that I’d forgotten what it was like to just sit down and order food. Look out a window and just eat for a little while. I…missed it. I miss never having to look over my shoulder.”

Galo kept one eye on the tracker as he shoveled another slice down his throat. 

He paused to watch Lio again, taking in the careful way he took and savored each bite, and how he dabbed the napkin at his mouth between.

This really was a luxury to him, Galo realized.

“I wish this was more attainable,” Galo finally said. “Just sitting here with each other is nice.”

“Hm,” Lio murmured. He took a sip of water. “This is the most time we’ve spent together one on one in a while. I’m glad that you’re opening up more.” He glanced out the window, as he did every few minutes. “I enjoy your company.”

Galo’s cheeks flushed a little. “Oh yeah? Same. I mean, I enjoy your company too.” He stared down at the tracker with fresh resolve.

Lio hummed and resumed eating. It was becoming more and more apparent that Galo was someone he could lean on, more so than the others. Maybe the fire in his eyes was enough to keep his own from going out.

A call came in and Burning Rescue peeled out. Toni was already sweeping up and shutting down the ovens. The crowds outside had dwindled.

Lio made a face as he watched the doors swing shut behind Burning Rescue. “Who the hell is starting a fire right now.”

Galo shrugged. “I mean, there are Burnish who aren’t under your jurisdiction, I guess.”

Lio sighed. “At least it will draw attention away from us. Freeze Force will be on the other side of town if we’re lucky.”

The tracker beeped. The dot was on the move.

Galo turned to the window.

A lone woman stepped outside of the target building.

“That’s her,” Lio said, scrambling to his feet. “Let’s go.”


	5. Cruelty Masquerading As Kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lio and Galo confront Aiden, and learn the horrifying truth.  
> CW: Minor character death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing my best in light of everything. I hope that everyone else is doing well also and staying as safe as possible. Here is where the plot picks up and gets a little heavy.

Aiden made it down the street by the time Lio and Galo burst from the pizzeria doors. It was late enough that much of the crowd had dwindled.

From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the pair and swiveled on one foot to the opposite direction. She walked with purpose, but did not run.

“Oh no you don’t—” Lio muttered.

“Uh, Lio—wait—” Galo caught Lio by the hood, yanking him backward before he stepped into the pulsing flashes of oncoming traffic. “You have to wait—"

Lio’s eyes narrowed, watching Aiden retreat.

“You almost got hit by a car,” Galo said. “You have to be careful.”

“I’m just used to being the meanest thing on the street.”

Galo resisted the urge to remind him that his body would surely lose against a truck moving at 50 miles per hour.

Maybe it wouldn’t.

Galo wasn’t actually sure, taking into account Burnish physiology—

Not that he’d be the one to test that.

“Galo, stop daydreaming. The light’s changed—”

Galo yelped, stumbling over his feet as Lio dragged him across the street.

“Right—right, sorry—Did you see where she went?”

“Down that alley,” Lio said. “Make haste.” He slipped down the alley just in time to see Aiden vanish around a corner.

Once she’d reached the safety of the alleyways, she broke into a run.

Galo took off after her, Lio on his heels.

“I’m gonna go ahead and say she defected—” Galo said, pulling ahead. He ran haphazardly, shoving off of walls after rounding tight turns. 

“STOP—” Aiden yelped. She skidded to a halt. An iron gate barred her path, spiked at the top. She whirled around, thrusting her hands forward as if to protect herself.

Galo winced, expecting fire, but the flame that unfurled from her palm was _weak_. It wisped away.

Aiden swore.

Lio nearly slammed into Galo from behind. He coughed through a few gasping breaths, hands on his knees until he could right himself. 

The woman who stood before them was about their age, head shaved weeks ago, judging by the fuzz of pink hair starting to spike back in. She wore a labcoat but no ID badge.

Lio’s eyes grazed down to her ankle where a monitor pulsed. “Did you defect or were you captured.”

Aiden winced at his cool tone and stared hard at the ground between her feet. She picked at her nail. “Both. A little of both.”

“And what of your mission? To find your sister? To work reconnaissance for the Mad Burnish?”

“My sister is dead.”

Lio’s brow knit. “You swore an oath of loyalty to the Mad Burnish. Does that mean nothing?”

“What do you want me to say…”

Anger surged through Galo. Without thinking, he pushed in front of Lio. “Then our business here is done. Or will you at _least_ explain yourself?”

Aiden flinched back, then took a deep breath. She dug into her pocket and handed over what looked like a business card.

Lio took it and turned it over in his hands. The only words on the card were “Burnish Rehabilitation Plan” followed by a phone number. “What’s this?”

“It’s the number to a treatment program to cure the Burnish condition,” Aiden said without meeting his eyes. “I’m doing this of my own free will.”

Lio frowned. “Why would you want them to strip you of your powers.” His voice came out flat.

Her gaze finally flicked up to stare at Lio. Her hands tightened into fists. “Why wouldn’t _you?!_ ”

Lio stared levelly back. “Because it’s who I am. Becoming _like them_ isn’t going to undo everything they’ve done to us. I don’t want to change.”

“Yeah—well it was my choice.”

“Is it at least safe?” Lio asked. “Are they harming you?”

“They say that it’ll get worse before it gets better,” Aiden said. She swallowed, wrapping her arms around herself as she shifted her weight a little. “I haven’t told them anything about the Mad Burnish or you, if that’s what you’re concerned about. I’m just doing this for me. But there’s a possibility that they may try to lure others into this.” She bit her lip. “Just a warning. And you should know that it isn’t your decision to make for them, Lio Fotia, no matter what you may think is best for your people.”

Lio scoffed.

Galo put a hand on his shoulder to stay him. 

“I just know better than to trust _anything_ the humans do,” Lio muttered. He frowned. “I will not tell you that you can’t make this decision for yourself. But I will tell you that we were relying on you. Do what you will with that.” With a sharp toss of his head, he turned and walked away.

Galo jogged to catch up.

Lio was deadly silent as they picked their way back down the street.

“What a _traitor_ —what an _asshole—_ ” Galo fumed, pumping his fists in the air as if barely able to contain his irritation. “I just don’t understand how someone can throw away loyalty like nothing when people are depending on her—”

Lio shot him a sideways look as they stopped at the same light. The pizzeria windows were now dark, and the flashes from cars grew less frequent. A quiet sank over the streets.

“We just have to keep moving forward,” Lio finally said with a sigh.

The light changed, and they crossed.

Galo grumbled a few choice words.

“Calm down,” Lio said. “If you start spouting fire at the ears, people will notice.” 

“Ha,” Galo managed. He allowed himself to settle down and the two walked side by side in silence for a few blocks.

 _Burn. We want to see it burn. Burn it down—_ Whispers seethed through Galo’s consciousness, throbbing at the back of his skull. They bounced against his own thoughts, making them hard to decipher.

Galo whipped his head around. 

“Everything okay?” Lio asked.

Galo swallowed and nodded. These must be the voices that the other Burnish were talking about. He sucked a breath in through his teeth, brow furrowed. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

_The whole city in flames. Ash beneath your feet._

Galo grit his teeth. He felt the fire surge up his arms, but clamped his fists shut as if to quell it before it shot from his fingertips. Every nerve crackled with energy, like the erratic dance of flame under his skin.

“I get that way too,” Lio said, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. “Especially when I’m agitated. Rage fuels the flames, it seems. It gets harder to control the urge. It’s hard not to lose control.”

Galo winced but nodded. “Yeah. I don’t want to cause any fires right now. Especially alone in enemy territory.” He anchored himself in the warmth of Lio’s hand and focused on his words instead.

“Probably for the best,” Lio said. “There’s not enough time or information to plan anything out right now. Too many unknowns and people could be hurt.” He frowned. Galo was holding a little too tight. “We have to plan something soon, though. The itch is bad and it makes the whole of the group restless.”

Lio stopped short.

“Hm?” Galo said.

“I just remembered. Do you think we should check out that other fire? I know it wasn’t any of _my_ people, but I hate the idea of any of our kind going it alone. People aren’t made to exist in solitude.”

Galo’s brow smoothed. _He cares so much about his people_ , he thought. And for a second, that realization outpowered the overlapping voices in his head.

“The fire is more than likely out by now,” Galo said. “I don’t see any smoke anyway.” He craned his neck to stare up at the skyscrapers. “Though, with all the buildings around, I guess that’d be difficult to see, especially at night.”

Lio’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, but they might be somewhere on the run.”

Galo sighed, studying Lio’s troubled expression, and pointed down the street. “I know where we can find out at least where the fire occurred. Maybe you can get some leads on that.”

Lio did not question it, instead jogging after Galo who marched as if on a mission.

Galo led Lio a few blocks down the street. Blocks he’d walked every day in his old life. They stopped outside of a giant garage with two corrugated pull-down doors and a massive driveway. The windows punched along the sides were dark. Red paint and sleek 3’s decorated the sides.

“A Burning Rescue station?” Lio asked. “I don’t think they’re going to help us out.”

“No, but we can help ourselves,” Galo said. Without looking back, he jogged toward the garage door and flipped open the code panel. If he was lucky, the password would be the same—the string of lottery numbers that Ignis once won 400$ off of. Remi had set the code to that a long time ago to tease him. He’d never changed it.

“Galo?”

Galo punched in the rapid string of numbers. The panel beeped. With a metallic click, a latch somewhere released.

“Galo???”

Galo put a finger to his lips and crouched beside the garage door to grab the bar there. He heaved the door upward and let it roll back into the ceiling with a loud clatter. Lio winced. 

The garage inside was dark and—most importantly—empty. 

“Looks like they’re still out,” Galo said. “Figured as much. Lots of cleanup and stuff to do after a fire. Takes some time to pack the truck and equipment back up too.”

“Galo—”

Galo marched in. Lio chased after.

Their feet echoed in the dark, but Galo felt his way toward the back rooms where a kitchen, cots, and recreational equipment was stowed.

“Do I want to know just how you know your way around this place so well?” Lio said.

“You wouldn’t believe me anyway,” Galo muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Look, it’s hard to explain, so let’s just get in and out as fast as we can. They could come back at any minute.” Galo threw open the back door and clicked on the light.

To the right, the lockers caught his attention, each labeled with a different name.

Remi, Lucia, Ignis, Aina, Varys, Vinny.

He brushed his fingers across each one as he passed.

The locker on the very end had no lock or a nametag. 

Galo felt that same pang in his chest. He shrugged it off, headed toward Lucia’s corner, still littered with Cheetos she must have spilled in her haste to board the truck earlier. The computer there pulsed a gentle light.

“Just give me a second,” Galo said. The chair creaked when he sat. He placed a hand on the console and felt the computer hum as it pulled up the main screen.

He typed the same sequence of numbers into the dialogue box there—Ignis tended to use the same password for everything. That much hadn’t changed.

Lio stared, hands folded across his chest. He said nothing, but one brow was raised.

“This should give us the coordinates of the last fire called in…” He clicked through a few more screens. “See?”

Lio finally approached, leaning in to mumble the numbers to himself. “It says fire neutralized.”

“Figured as much,” Galo said. “Hold on.” He punched a key on the keyboard. “If there’s any communication going on, we’ll be able to pick it up. Might clue us in to what’s going on.”

The speakers crackled with overlapping chatter from members of Burning Rescue. Galo pursed his lips as he listened, until he could make out snatches of the garbled conversation.

\--Freeze Force is after the one who started the fire. Dunno where he went—

\--well s’not like the sensors won’t pick him up—

\--buddy really looked worse for wear. Don’t know if he’s gonna make it—”

Galo punched the button again. The radio cut silent. “The sensors, right…” He turned to scoop a pair of binoculars off of the desk then tossed them to Lio.

Lio caught them with a swipe of his hand. “What are these?”

“They measure body heat. It’ll help us determine who is a Burnish, unless they’re wearing some kind of device like we are, I guess.”

Lio put them to his eyes, scanning the room. He settled his gaze on Galo, who was outlined in blues and yellows with a reading of 37C. 

Galo unlatched the necklace. His temperature immediately spiked.

“Huh,” Lio said, with an exasperated expression. “This dingy little thing? Seriously?” He shoved it in the front pocket of his hoodie with a sigh.

“Yep,” Galo said. He was able to clip the necklace back on by himself this time. “So, I got the coordinates and I think I know about where it is. So let’s get going. Best not to stick around in case they do come back.”

“Right. Lead the way.”

The coordinates weren’t terribly far, but by the fourth block Lio was panting and rubbing sleep from his eyes. 

“Long night,” he mumbled. He glanced in either direction. 

There was no immediate trace of Freeze Force _or_ Burning Rescue, but the air was thick with the resounding ring of sirens and the thrum of helicopter blades. Searchlights flashed in the gaps between buildings and up into the dark sky. 

Lio dug the binoculars from his pouch and started scanning the sidewalks and alleyways. He grimaced. “This thing even picks up people inside buildings. No wonder Freeze Force is such a pain in the ass.”

“I found the fire,” Galo said.

Or what _was_ the fire, now reduced to soggy ash and puddles in the pavement that ran into trickles toward the storm drains. The target looked like a singular convenience store, the walls caved in and the remains of shelves crumbling. Some of the buildings around it were scorched, but relatively undamaged.

“That’s really….small scale,” Lio said. “Maybe a kid did this? Or someone who lost control for a hot second.” He chewed the inside of his lip.

“Over there,” Galo whispered, thrusting a finger to where he caught a flash of movement in one of the alleyways, just behind a dumpster.

Lio followed with the binoculars. The readings were all searing oranges and yellows. “Yeah. Looks like our guy. Approach slowly. He’s probably very jumpy.”

Galo followed Lio’s lead, practically tiptoeing across the street.

Lio was the one who spoke first, keeping his voice level but gentle. “Hey. Hey. We’re not Freeze Force.” He let a spark of flame dance across his fingertips. “See? We’re like you. Just stay put. We’ll come to you.” He motioned to Galo to follow, slipping behind the trash bins.

A Burnish huddled in a blanket against the wall there, trembling, his fingers wrapped so tightly around his arms that his knuckles turned white. Every breath was a rasp. 

He looked like he could have been a business man, hair cropped short and glasses cracked. The color had seeped from his face.

Lio held out a hand. “Come on. We can take you to our camp.”

The Burnish’s teeth chattered but he shook his head. “I wish you’d found me like three days sooner.” His laugh was weak, barely a scathing sigh. 

“I can carry you easily enough,” Galo said. “I’m a big strong guy. It’ll be alright.”

The man let his back thud against the wall. He slid down to the ground. As he moved, the tang of gasoline wafted off of him.

Lio followed him, crouching down and scooting closer. He wrinkled his nose. “You reek. Did…you start the fire with gasoline?"

“Yes.”

“Why?”

The man shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. He let his head lull backward and spoke in a slow drawl. “I was in rehab…for my powers.” His voice scraped like sandpaper. “They said that they’d cure me and then I could rejoin society. I jumped at the chance. This mutation had taken everything from me.”

Lio’s brow furrowed. 

“At first I thought it was working, the outlook was really good and they said that soon I’d be able to go back to my wife and kid. Regain everything. But in the end, all they did was weaken my flame and the voices started screaming louder and louder the weaker I got. I had to start a fire, but I _couldn’t_. I could barely even make a spark.” His head flopped forward and he stared at his hands. “I did what I had to do to jumpstart the process.” He groaned and let the blanket fall from his shoulders.

His clothes were charred and tattered around him. Fresh wounds oozed with pus, livid and searing red. 

Lio hissed inward through his teeth. “You’re not healing.”

“My flame is too weak,” he said. “I think I’ll turn to ash soon. I think that’s all that’s left for me.”

Lio shook his head. “Let me jumpstart your flame for you. I have plenty of power of my own. Let me lend you some—and we can get you back to my group where you’ll be safe and you can heal.”

“My friend already tried that. It wouldn’t take.” He grimaced with a fresh shudder, lip twitching with an attempt to feign a smile. “At least I still get the fate of a Burnish.” His face started to sink from pale to grey. The skin there was already flaking, molten around the edges as it lifted like paper.

Lio took his hands in his own and nodded. “At least tell me your name, so that I can carry it with me.”

“Ray Dremer,” he said. 

Lio nodded. “Rest well, Ray Dremer.” He stood solemnly, turning his back as the rest of Ray fell into ashes, like a building caving in. The edges pulsed with a dying glow, catching on the wind then wisping away. 

Galo’s breath caught in his throat. A thousand and one questions spiraled in his head as he tried to make sense of the spot where Ray was just sitting. But then he noticed Lio, staring at the ground with the most pained expression he’d ever seen. And it all came crashing to a halt.

Lio swallowed. Licked his lips. Wiped his eyes. “Cruelty masquerading as kindness has to be the worst kind,” Lio finally said, voice shaking. He clenched his fists. Anger flashed in his eyes, but he trembled.

Galo pulled him into his arms, crushing Lio to his chest like he was afraid Lio might fall apart. Lio allowed it, closing his eyes and letting Galo still the trembling in his body. His fists tightened in the fabric of Galo’s jacket.

“I’m sorry,” Galo finally whispered, chin on top of Lio’s head. "Let’s just get home while we still can.”


	6. Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lio plans a new Burn for Promepolis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proof of life! Proof of life!! I managed to graduate and moved 2000 miles and now I'm frantically looking for a job. Finally have some time to devote to writing, though, so figured I'd update some fics!

When they returned, Lio had disappeared to rest, and by the third day the camp was brimming with restless energy. Galo, Meis, and Gueira had taken it upon themselves to hold counsel with the other Burnish.

“How are your injuries?” Galo asked one elderly man. He’d been almost frozen solid before they’d administered the medicine to him.

“I’m right as rain,” he remarked, with a fervent nod, though he clung to the knob of his cane as it wobbled between him and the ground. He cocked his head toward the shipping container that the Burnish leaders utilized. “What of Mr. Fotia? Is he alright? He came in smelling of gasoline…”

“Lio is fine,” Galo said, brow furrowed. 

_He has to be, right?_ Galo thought.

Galo smeared his hand over his face, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes, then allowed his features to smooth. “Lio is definitely fine. The latest mission was just very tiring.”

The elder nodded. “Yes, yes, of course…he’s a strong young fellow. Never met one as capable as he is.”

“That’s absolutely right,” Galo said, forcing a grin until the man hobbled back toward the campfire.

“For real, though,” Meis whispered. “What was the deal with the gas smell? You both reeked.”

Guiera made a face. “Yeah, I just feel like that’s a bad combination—Burnish and gasoline? Talk about an explosion.” The corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. “That’d really throw Freeze Force off, wouldn’t it?” He gestured wildly, but whispered “Boom.”

Galo scoffed a laugh, shaking his head, but tugged the collar of his own shirt to sniff it. He wrinkled his nose. “God, is there no laundry around here. You’re absolutely right. I do smell awful.” With a shrug, he shed it and dropped it on the ground. He’d deal with that later.

“Join the motherfuckin’ club,” Guiera said with a shrug. “Sometimes I let Burning Rescue douse me on purpose, just so I can feel clean for a hot second.”

Meis scoffed. “And here I thought it was because your reflexes needed a little work.” He tugged playfully at Guiera’s sleeve.

Guiera responded with a gentle punch to his shoulder. 

“In all seriousness,” Galo whispered, plopping onto the ground with crossed legs and hands on his knees. “The gas thing…I’m sure Lio will want to tell you eventually. But we ran into a Burnish that had been basically stripped of his powers.”

Meis plunked down beside him. “What--?”

Guiera shushed him, glancing at the Burnish gathered nearby. 

Galo leaned in closer, whispering even softer. “I don’t know the details, but, there is some kind of lab or something that tricks Burnish into coming in to be rehabilitated. But it doesn’t really stop anything, just makes them weak. The guy like lost himself to the voices in his head and had to use gasoline to try to spark a flame. The process basically killed him.” Galo wrung his hands, shaking his head. “That’s wild.”

“Yeah, you’re tellin’ me,” Guiera mused. He stood, then paced back and forth. “Just when you think they can’t hit a new low, they dig underground. God.” He stopped short and sighed, glancing back toward the shipping containers. “Maybe that’s what boss is doing. Planning some kind of rescue mission. Spring ‘em out of jail.”

“Maybe,” Galo said. “But I don’t know if that’ll really nip the problem in the bud. They might just go after more people. It sounds too good to be true, you know? Like, hey, we’ll fix you so you can stop being on the run…”

Meis scoffed. “Never believe a promise from a bunch of snakes,”

Guiera sighed. “Imagine telling people with powers as cool as ours that we need to be fixed. Like. You’re the ones with the problem. We’ve figured out a pretty good routine for dealing with our lot, and honestly I think our powers are pretty fucking badass. They could do a lot of good for the general population, if people didn’t shoot on sight.” He dropped onto the ground beside Meis, letting his hands sink into his hair as he rested his face into his palms. “Sucks.”

Meis absently rubbed his shoulder.

Ray’s last words echoed in Galo’s head. He could understand that kernel that made Ray desperate for hope.

“Did…did you leave anyone behind?” Galo asked, after a heavy moment of silence. “When you became Burnish?”

“Does it matter?” Gueria muttered. “Like, what’s gone is gone. Ashes in the wind.”

“I had a sister,” Meis said. “When I became Burnish. I had to leave without saying goodbye. Not sure if she knows if I’m alive or not. Or if I’m a Burnish or not—it all happened so fast.” He traced a shape in the sand with his finger. “We were shopping for our mother’s birthday, in one of the major malls in the area. We split up in the food court to get some snacks when it woke within me and the mall went up in flames. The place was swarming with firefighters and police—it was back when Freeze Force wasn’t quite a thing yet—at least not as far as Texas—but people sure as hell recognized the tint of Burnish flames.”

“Did…did she make it out okay?”

Meis nodded. “She’d collapsed near Cinnabon. I actually carried her out and dropped her by a paramedic, but then I had to scram. It was pretty obvious that I was the Burnish at that point, because everyone else had lost consciousness under all that smoke and heat. Never had the luxury of checking up on her. Just had to hightail it out of there. It was on the news for weeks. A lot of people died.”

“That’s hard,” Galo murmured. “I’m sorry.”

Meis shrugged. “I am happy enough knowing that my sister is okay, even if I will never see her again.”

“Hm.” Galo shifted a little, glancing at the shipping container once more. 

“Ugh, fine,” Guiera said. “If we’re all just baring our souls or whatever. Fine. I was a runaway. I’d gone to Miami from a town on the outskirts because shit was really rough. I gave up the right to mourn the loss of loved ones even before I became a Burnish, because I left them over some stupid spat. My mom was seeing some guy that I didn’t approve of. Money was tight and they were relying on my income and hers for rent, but I just left her and my kid brother. I left when they needed me. And now I can’t go back even if I wanted to.” He exhaled deeply, almost as if deflating. “I have no idea how they’re doing. I have no way of finding out.”

“Honestly,” Meis said, “You might have saved them. If your awakening was anything like mine, you could have very easily killed your family.” He hesitated, eyes darting to Galo a moment. “Not to bring that up so callously. I just realized that was the case for you.”

Galo grit his teeth but shook his head. “Like Guiera said. Like ash on the wind, right? Can’t afford to dwell too hard.”

The scuff of boots in the sand alerted all three, as a shadow cast over them. 

“Boss—” Guiera exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. “Long time no see—are you feeling any better?”

Lio nodded. “Yes. I just needed some time to collect myself and to think.”

“Galo filled us in on what happened in Promepolis,” Meis said, joining Gueira. “Do you have an idea of what we should do about that?”

Lio stared absently at the group of Burnish refugees around the fire. A few kids made as if to run up to him, but their caretakers took them by the arm and led them away. The Burnish knew to let Lio have his space when he conversed with his generals.

“Lio?” Meis repeated.

“Hm? Oh, sorry, I was thinking.”

It had been three days since any of them had seen him, but Lio looked as exhausted as ever. Dark circles cut sharp under dull eyes. Shadows clung to the hollows in his cheeks. He still wore the hoodie from when they’d infiltrated Promepolis.

“Boss, maybe you should get a meal in you,” Guiera said. He dug through his bag for the last of the beans and handed it over.

Lio took it without looking at it, but held it as he continued to survey camp.

“Lio, seriously,” Galo cut in. “Eat.”

Lio jumped a little, eyes flashing up to meet Galo’s. He nodded and pried the lid from the Tupperware. He ate in silence, using the little plastic fork in the container to skewer beans. “Right,” Lio finally said, as he set the Tupperware down by Guiera’s bag, half finished. “Okay. Regarding Salve’s little operation, no I don’t really have any ideas yet, not until we can learn more about what’s going on—who they have, et cetera. But the thought for today is that we need to load up in the truck and get toward Promepolis as planned.”

“Still?” Meis asked.

Lio nodded. “It’s time for another Burn.”

“Ah,” Guiera said. Even he lacked the usual enthusiasm at the prospect. “That’s true. It’s been a while. People are getting antsy as fuck.”

“It’ll be dangerous,” Lio said. 

All three generals nodded.

“Get the truck ready,” Lio said. “I’ll outline the plan once we’re settled into the new location.”

The truck swayed and jolted, catching every bump in the desert terrain for the next three hours. The Burnish rode in silence, clutching at straps hanging down from the ceiling. In the silence, the creaking of the suspension and the hum of the engine bled into the background. 

Guiera drove, Meis taking shotgun. Lio and Galo sat with the other Burnish in the back. Neither spoke. Rather than sleep, Lio stared intently at the little notebook he’d been scrawling notes onto earlier. 

He only looked up when the truck shuddered to a stop. Light flooded in as Meis rolled up the back. 

“We’re here, boss,” Meis said.

The rest of the Burnish waited for Lio to climb to his feet, stretch, then step out into the waning afternoon. 

“Thank you,” Lio murmured. He gestured for Galo to follow, then the rest of the Burnish filed out behind them. He raised his voice. “This is a temporary camp, so unpack only what we need. We will only be staying one night. But first, let me explain the objective here.”

Lio waited until the Burnish were circled around them. The camp itself was close enough to Promepolis that the city lights clung to the horizon, but far enough that they could not distinguish individual buildings. The encampment itself was sheltered by canyons, carved into the desert by centuries of wind and a river long gone.

“We are here for a Burn,” Lio said. “It will be more dangerous than ever. You’ve all experienced Freeze Force’s advanced weaponry in other locations. It will be ten times worse in Promepolis. That said, we will need to keep moving. We’ll light the fires, let them blaze, and then move on. Myself and the stronger Burnish will light buildings on a massive scale to spread Freeze Force as thin as possible, so that the other Burnish can get in and out as efficiently as possible to sate the voices.” 

He paused, eyes tracing over the group. “I’ve drawn a map that I want everyone to study, and we will go as a group. Our emphasis, as usual, will be to leave an escape route for civilians. This is a holiday, so we are targeting an office district rather than residential areas to reduce the amount of injuries. Are there any questions? We will go first thing in the morning, before the light touches the horizon.”

“A lot goes into this,” Galo mused, as the Burnish set to unpacking a few of their belongings and dispersing around the camp. Around them, idle chatter and the rattle of boxes filled the silence.

“Yeah, well, if anyone can plan this shit out, it’s Lio Fotia,” Guiera said. “We _really_ didn’t show this level of care before Lio came along, but boss introduced Burnish pride to us. We sort of agreed that it was for the best, putting innocents out of harm’s way, but I gotta say that his hope that the Burnish would stop being seen as “evil” is a bit too far off of a hope…”

“Wishful thinking,” Meis agreed.

“Still, gotta admire a man who hopes for the best in the future, I guess,” Galo said.

“Burning the candle at both ends, I worry,” Meis said.

“Wellp, that’s why we trust him with our lives, I guess,” Guiera said. 

Galo hummed, nodding as he stared at a pair of women who had started to unfold a tent. “Wait….he mentioned a holiday?” Galo asked.

“Christmas,” Lio said, without looking up where he’d set down a bin full of dry goods. “That’s tomorrow.” He headed back toward the track for more boxes.

Galo blinked. Hard.

“Wait, for real???” Galo rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes, shaking his head. How the hell was it Christmas _already_? When he’d bumped his head it had been _August_ he thought. He’d been with the group for a few weeks, but that didn’t add up--

“You good?” Guiera asked. He’d started assembling brambles and branches he’d found around camp, clearing out a perimeter in the sand and digging down to assemble a makeshift kindling. He lit it with a brush of his fingers. It smoldered quietly until it took hold. He dropped a few more sticks as the fire cracked and squirmed. 

“Yeah, just, how is it Christmas? It’s not even cold??”

“I mean, I think temperature-wise it is cold out,” Guiera said with a shrug. “We just don’t feel it.” He puffed a breath out into the air. It came out as a plume. “See? Dragon’s breath. Definitely cold out.”

Galo puffed a few frantic breaths into his cupped hands, staring at it as it wisped out into the air then dispersed. “Oh, holy shit…”

“Haven’t felt the sting of winter in so long that I hardly remember it,” Meis said.

“Me neither—but I like it that way,” Guiera said, grinning ear to ear. “I never liked freezing my tail off.”

Galo stared at his bare arms. Not even a shiver took him. He glanced back up at the sun, which hung heavy toward the horizon as it began to set. With the heat pulsing off of him and from the sun, he would have guessed that it was still summer. 

“What’s this about you guys having ever experienced winter?” Lio set down a few boxes near them. “From Dallas and Miami? And Promepolis?” He scoffed, but a tiny smile tinged his lips. “Try Michigan sometime as a human.”

“Yeah, Yeah, boss—this isn’t winter suffering Olympics,” Guiera said, waving him off. “We know, we know, something something icy hills both ways. Eyelashes freezing off and blue toes.”

Lio’s laugh was quiet. A little bit of brightness had returned to his eyes. “Exactly.” He jogged back to the truck.

“So, uh, Christmas,” Galo said, tilting his head as he watched Lio go.

“What about it?” Meis said. He ripped the tape from the top of the box and started rifling through it for flashlights. 

“I don’t know, I just think that it’d be nice to observe it? Like, what kind of gift do you think Lio would like, for example?”

Guiera plunked down in front of Galo. “What’s this? You’re looking for a gift for the boss?” His grin only stretched wider.

Meis stared into the fire. “A vacation would probably do him good.” A dreamy look overtook his face. “Wouldn’t _that_ be a dream…”

“Yeah, for real,” Guiera said. “God, I’d go to fucking Disney world, maybe.”

“You’re not patient enough for those kinds of lines,” Meis said.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Guiera pulled to his feet. “Anyway—” He grinned down at Galo. “Leave it to me! I’ll get the inside scoop—”

“Please don’t—” Galo whined, but Guiera was already gone. 

“Galo—” Lio cut in. “Could you get the rest of the important boxes down?”

* * *

By the time they finished setting up camp, the sun smeared oranges and reds across the west as it finally dipped beneath the canyons. A smattering of stars crowded the moon, buried in a shawl of clouds on a darkening sky. The camp was in high spirits, sharing bread and expired boxes of macaroni prepared in tin cups over the campfire. Chatter overlapped.

“God I’m so fucking excited to burn something again—” Guiera said, pumping his fists into the air. He rounded the corner and plopped down onto the rock beside Lio, flinging his arm around his shoulder.

Meis joined him on the other side. “Me too.”

Galo had retreated toward his sleeping quarters and hadn’t been seen for almost an hour. 

Lio set his tin down into his lap. “This burn is long overdue, yes.” They could barely hear him over the roar of the fire. 

“So, what’s eating ya, boss? You’re awfully quiet right now,” Guiera said. 

Lio chewed his lip. “Just worried about things.”

“Yeah, well, it’ll all work out in the end. You’ve never led us wrong before.” Guiera followed his gaze to the fire. 

The trio watched it twist and smoke. A couple of kids reached in with fists to rearrange the sticks around foil wrapped potatoes. One older man had dipped his toes into it, like enjoying a footbath. 

“So, uh, Christmas, boss,” Guiera finally said, without taking his eyes off of the camp. 

“It’s been years since I’ve been able to think of Christmas,” Lio said. 

“Same here, though this is your second Christmas with us. As a Mad Burnish boss,” Guiera said. 

Lio hummed. “I wish I could do something special for everyone, if things were different. Instill some sense of normalcy harkening back to the lives we all once led.” His head tilted up to stare at the sky. “We can start a tradition as a people some day soon, maybe.” He chewed the inside of his lip. Guiera and Meis had to lean in to hear him. “You know, I found a volcano that may mask our footprint. It might be time to start settling down. Then we can have our own holidays and traditions. The Burnish could use a little bit of happy for once.”

Meis and Guiera exchanged sad looks across Lio. 

“You know, Boss,” Meis said, “You deserve a little bit of happy as well.”

“I don’t have time for happy,” Lio snapped. “Not when everyone is depending on me.”

“See, that’s the thing though,” Guiera said, “Things can be hard but you can’t let the good get lost in the cracks, even with the majority of everything is bad. You can’t survive otherwise.”

A sigh hollowed Lio out. He only looked more exhausted. 

“You’re doing all you can for us, but you have to let us pick up some of the slack,” Guiera continued. “You have to relax a little. Let yourself rest. Put yourself first for once. Isn’t that what you have generals for? To depend on?”

Meis raised his voice, “Isn’t that right, Galo?”

Galo had been sidling closer from behind, as if trying to overhear the conversation.

“Ah—huh? About what?” A bundle of firewood tumbled from his arms. “Ach—” One hit his foot. He stumbled forward, cursing. 

Lio hummed. “I think it’s time to get some sleep. Galo, try not to injure yourself before tomorrow, yeah?” He stood. “Remember, before daybreak. Goodnight, all.” And he slipped back toward the sleeping area.


End file.
